Does the dog die? Now you’ll know

I call it the Syd rule, after a co-worker of mine who will not see a movie in which this thing happens: the dog dies.

Now there’a a website that will tell you whether no pets die, a pet gets sick or injured but is ultimately OK, or whether a pet dies.

Do you turn off Old Yeller before the end so you can pretend that he lived a long and happy life? Did a cute pet on a movie poster make you think it would be a fun comedy but it turned out to be a pet-with-a-terminal-illness tearjerker instead? Are you unable to enjoy the human body count in a horror movie because you’re wondering whether the dog’s going to kick the bucket? Have you ever Googled “Does the [dog/cat/horse/Klingon targ] die in [movie title]?”

I don’t want to tell you how old I was before I realized Old Yeller didn’t yell.

Having the dog (or pretty much any other animal) die has ruined dozens of movies for me. I’m still upset about the horse in “Atonement.”

Which makes “Sounder” one of the best movies ever.

Do you freak out when the dog dies?

(And don’t get on me about people dying in movies. It’s not the same at all.